Char No. 4
196 Smith St., 718-643-2106, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
In a city of whiskey bars that favor Scotland, Brooklyn's Char No. 4  (named for the maximum char applied to bourbon barrels) has, finally, given America top billing. In the handsome restaurant—the color of a ruddy 20-year-old bourbon—homegrown whiskies hog all the bar real estate, available in 1- or 2-ounce pours. (There's scotch in drawers below, if you must.) It's no surprise, then, that Char No. 4 features a bourbon-based cocktail list and a food menu rich with smoky Southern influence. Works for us—and, apparently, for the swarms of young Brooklynites who crash the spot every weekend.